Why our city sparkles from the sky

FROM the skies above, Toowoomba is just as magnificent as it is from the ground.

Not every day are you afforded the opportunity to take to the skies in a helicopter and see first hand why more than 150,000 thousand people love this city and are proud to call Toowoomba home. It certainly is a wonderful place to live.

From the green recreational spaces of Queens Park and Lake Annand and to the hustle and bustle of the CBD, there is little doubt that Toowoomba is one of the most picturesque cities in Australia.

However, one thing that certainly stood out was just how recognisable points of interest were from the sky, whether that is Grand Central, Toowoomba Grammar, Clifford Park or the dead-straight line that is Ruthven St.

The urban sprawl of Middle Ridge and Highfields was also very impressive, as were the rolling green hills of the Ravensbourne National Park.

However, the aspect that stood out the most was just how much green space there is in Toowoomba.

The three dams to the north of Toowoomba - Cooby, Perseverance and Cressbrook - look magnificent full of water.

The Warrego Hwy, snaking its way down the Toowoomba Range and into the Lockyer Valley, would be the only blight on the natural landscape cutting a path through prime agricultural pastures.

Over the coming days, The Chronicle will publish aerial pictures of Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley, culminating in aerial pictures of Grantham one year on from the January, 2011, natural disaster.